Lots of complaints in the room about the structure on this one as the limit levels were playing way bigger than the equivalent NL levels. The LHE blinds were double that of the NL blinds. So we’d play 200/400 LHE (1/2 blinds) and then 50/100 NL. It’s defnitely the fastest tournament I’ve played yet at the WSOP but that seems more to do with them skipping blind levels than anything else. They used the NL structure they’ve been using to get 2200+ NL player fields down to the FT at end of day 2 as the base, when with only 700 ish entrants they could have used the limit structure sheet as a base. Indeed only 98 people survived day one, which is about as expected as upon starting i thought there was a genuine chance we’d actually reach the money before close of play.

Having drank way too much the night before I turned up 20 mins or so late, and started with 2850. Spewed a few hundred while finding my feet before eventually deciding that I was going to feel the same wherever I was so I may as well ignore the general omg-im-dying nausea and pain and try to win this anyway.

Interesting hand in level 4 against Theo Tran, who’d been typically aggressive. Oh yeah, i still run good at table draws, as I managed to get aggressive skilled internet kid on my left, theo on his left and another internet guy on his left. All the older (and probably softer) were on my right. Which is fine if i can find a way to actually play pots with them without running into a wall of pain from the sharks on my left.

Theo and the kid on my left had both squeezed me once. I start hand with 3200 ish, theo has 2900 ish. utg raises to 125, I cold call on button with T6 clubs. theo calls from bb. Flop 7c 6d 4d. Utg bets 225, I call, theo raises to 825 I push. He tanks and folds as expected.

A few hands after that I raise KK over a limp to 175 get reraised by the sb (kid on theo’s left) who makes it 800 to go. I flat after a few seconds pseudo-thought and ship pretty quickly over his lead on a 442 flop. Jacks no good sir.

And suddenly I’m at 8k on 1st break and looking good.

Next 2 hrs don’t go so well when i get free looks from big blind (LHE) with KT and QT and flop top pr both times. I just call down the 2nd (I folded 1st on river and the predictable old guy flashed me his set) but was coolered both times. Hot. 4k left. We bust theo but the internet player on my immediate left has gone on a huge set flopping rush and now has over 20k. Fun times for me as the speculative hand range i can play shrinks drastically, yet with this structure i need to play something.

After the 30 min dinner break blinds are 200/400 for LHE.

Aggressive older guy (replacing predictable older guy (- yeah yeah i know – when im not hungover i’ll actually get names or note a description beyond the normal horrible old guy/dangerous young guy)) raises from HJ. SB calls. I look down at 96 diamonds. Meh. I call.

Flop Kd 7d 3d. Booyah. ch, ch, bet, fold, I raise. He calls. Turn is a sexy offsuit deuce. I bet he raises I 3 bet and he puts me in for my last 100. 9k in the middle puts me right back in the game, I can damage the big stack to my left now and wil almost certainly get a chance to 3 bet him AI when he’s rasing me light. Life is good. He flips AdAx. Meh. 7 outs.

River Qd.

gg.